The developer, Ability by Acierto, hired Pordes Residential to take over sales of the 41-unit condo building at 9521 East Bay Harbor Drive.

Crescendo, which was acquired by One Sotheby’s International Realty last year, previously handled sales. A spokesperson for One Sotheby’s said Crescendo parted ways with Bijou Bay Harbor before the acquisition.

The building is the first South Florida project for Ability by Acierto, a U.S. development company founded by developer Juan Carlos Gonzalez. It broke ground in June at 70 percent presales.

Units range from 900 square feet to 2,100 square feet and from the $600,000s to just under $2 million for five penthouses. The developer also dropped deposit requirements from 50 percent to 30 percent, and is in the process of securing a construction loan, Mark Pordes, CEO of Pordes Residential, told The Real Deal.

It’s not uncommon for developers to replace sales and marketing firms during a downturn.

“When the market has changed and things have slowed down for whatever reason, and there’s a little compression in the market, our phone starts to ring a lot more,” he said.

Pordes said bringing hands-on senior management to help with sales helped his firm in the past to sell out Canyon Ranch and One Bal Harbour.

“Developers are looking for answers and results. They’re oversubscribed,” he said. “They have so many projects and they don’t have enough good talent to handle the listings they have.”

Bijou Bay Harbor is one of more than 20 in the pipeline in Bay Harbor Islands, which is near Bal Harbour, Surfside and Miami Beach. It’s a block away from Bal Harbour Shops, which is set to undergo a $400 million expansion and renovation.

Bijou Bay Harbor was designed by Revuelta Architecture International with interiors by Adriana Hoyos.